Industries that utilize cutting devices and apparatus in everyday and/or routine activities, such as opening boxes and bags, cutting and sizing cardboard, rope, heavy paper, fabric, plastic bags and the like and any other activity or task that requires the use of a cutting device or apparatus requires or mandates that the cutting device or apparatus meet certain minimum safety criteria, and ultimately, wants a cutting device or apparatus that maximizes safety features for the operator, while allowing the operator to easily perform the desired tasks with the cutting device or apparatus.
There are many reasons that industries want safer cutting devices and safer conditions for employees, including a) minimizes workplace accidents, b) minimizes lost time on the job of employees, c) acts as a possible marketing tool for the employer to potential employees, d) reduces risk from an insurance standpoint and could contribute to lower insurance premiums or additional coverage and e) reduces liability-based legal actions and arbitrations.
There have been many attempts to manufacture a safer utility knife or cutting device. U.S. Pat. No. 5,878,501 issued to Owens et al. on Mar. 9, 1999 describes one such attempt to create a safer utility knife. The Owens utility knife comprises a blade cover that shields the operator from an exposed blade edge when the utility knife is not in use. The operator exposes the cutting surface of the blade by depressing two buttons on the side of the utility knife that are connected to the blade cover. Once the buttons are depressed, they can be pulled back away from the blade, thus pulling back the blade cover and exposing the cutting surface of the blade. However, once the cutting surface of the blade is exposed, only a conscious movement by the operator of depressing the buttons and pulling them towards the cutting surface can pull the blade cover over the cutting surface of the blade protecting the operator from further exposure to the cutting surface.
In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/804,451 filed on Mar. 12, 2001, which is commonly assigned and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, Votoloto improved on the Owens utility knife by providing a blade cover that can be pulled back from the cutting surface of the blade by using a trigger lever. If the trigger lever is depressed too quickly, such as what might occur in a panic situation, an intercept member causes disengagement of the blade cover from the trigger lever, thus causing the blade cover to return to a position where the cutting surface of the blade is covered by the blade cover. While the Votolato utility knife is an advancement in safety for utility knives and cutting tools, there are still aspects of that knife that could be improved. For example, there is no automatic function that closes the blade cover over the cutting surface in non-panic-type of situations, such as completion of a cutting job.
In addition to safety requirements, companies that utilize cutting devices and apparatus also would like to see certain ergonomic, sanitary and aesthetic features incorporated into the cutting device or apparatus, as mentioned previously herein. With respect to the sanitary requirement, industries that rely on the cutting device to be sanitary are the food service, food preparation and food sales industries, along with any other industries or companies where utility knives could contact food or food preparation surfaces. Another requirement or focus would be to eliminate loose razor blade contamination of food, food stuff, food preparation areas, food processing batches, pharmaceutical batches, chemical batches and other products that are easily contaminated by loose razor blades and razor blade pieces.
Therefore, there is a need for a cutting device or apparatus that a) is safe to use by the operator, b) reduces workplace accidents and the risk of workplace accidents, c) is ergonomically safe and effective, d) is sanitary for use around and in preparing consumer products, e) is aesthetically pleasing in an environment, such that it will be regularly used, and f) eliminates or greatly minimizes contamination of consumer products by loose blades and loose blade pieces.